Thought this was the best way to see all Islands in Hawaii. Heard from other sources this is a great cruise. NOT SO! Started out poor and didn't get much better. Arrived late afternoon to embark from an Oahu excusion arranged by NCL that was supposed to arrive at 1:30. Didn't get to room and settle in until after 5:00 pm. Our tour guide Leo evidently drew the short straw so we missed all the afternoon foods, drinks and activities. Overall the ships service was poor and the personnel not very friendly. As if they really didn't want to be on the ship which made us uncomfortable. Prime example was one evening after dinner we went to the piano bar with the piano player for a beverage and music. After 20 minutes of waiting for service and no one waiting on our table, 3 of my party went back to the rooms. I gave up and went downstairs to the main lobby bar for a beverage only to wait 5 minutes for service and total disappointment. Bartender never acknowledged I was there and there were only 3 other people at the bar. I went to the buffet, got a dish of ice cream and went back to the room for the remainder of the evening. Other negatives are: the pool area is small and very few seats to accomodate 2100 people. The music is extremely loud and makes it difficult to enjoy the activities. Announcements on the intercom can not be heard in the room so it difficult to know what is going on and plan for events. We gave up on the excursion tours and hired a private taxi service (KC) to provide a tour of Kauai on our last day. He was great and salvaged our vacation. Information on various Island activities was terrible which also made it hard to plan your day. All NCI wanted to do was sell excursions.

Eventhough the food in the main dinning room was mediocre we appreciated the services of the dietician that helped my wife with her food selection.

It was ridiculous to have to pay $4 for a bottle of water on the ship. Also beverage quality was poor and the prices were way too high. When I have to pay almost $10 for a NA beer for my wife it is time to look for another cruise line. Read more